In the last few years, a number of undocumented immigrants have entered the U.S. from the southern border. States like Texas have sent busloads of migrants to cities and states with more immigrant-friendly policies. Chicago, Illinois, was one of those cities.
Since Texas started bussing migrants there in 2022, more than 50,000 migrants have been brought to the city, with many choosing to stay there. Now, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers say they were told by administrators to give migrant students passing grades.
The teachers told WGN Radio they do not speak Spanish, and the students often did not speak English, making communication all but impossible. They also said many schools do not offer any English as a second language (ESL) support.
Despite that, Chicago teachers say they were instructed to give every migrant student a 70% in every subject so they could move on to the next grade.
Before Chicago Public Schools was aware teachers had talked to WGN, a spokesperson told the local station CPS held migrant students to the same academic standards as everyone else. However, after the report came out, CPS said its guidelines for promoting students to the next grade are “modified to serve the special needs of English language learners.”
WGN said a CPS representative has stated that the district could not check whether the teachers’ claims were true because the names of the students, schools and teachers were not given.
